To become more important than the current street urchins we basically were presently, we’d need to do a couple of things.

Our options, as usual, weren’t exactly glowing. For one we could break off and start our own gang, I’m a meta and I bet I’m pretty strong enough to sustain a level of fear and authority over the goons – If I grow and feet taller and have the balls to go through on my threats.

Problem though. I don’t have any goons. It would also be very counterintuitive given we want to meet Invincibill to ask for protection, and if we were meeting after creating a new gang, it’s more likely he’ll want to kill us rather than work with us.

Another option was to get on the news. The regular thing, become some crazy meta and try to rob a bank. Except, banks are impossibly difficult to rob, even for metas.

The security and protection thrown into it is so top notch that even if Invincibill himself tried, he’s more likely to come out limbless than with a single note of credit.

Yes, the man whose power is invulnerability would come out limbless.

Most banks are supported by the government directly or even run by it, as such, to insure everyone is sufficiently dissuaded from robbing banks, a lot of that alien invasion technology was thrown into it.

Meta tech as it’s colloquially known. The extra-terrestrial remnants of the war from centuries ago, combined with our technology made for something rather brilliant.

So brilliant I don’t have any faith in Invincibill, a C-list villain.

A third option and more likely to work was to go meet Rex’s cousin. The man is a Captain of sorts in the gang, he leads his own crew and reports to the Lieutenant, or sometimes, directly to Invincibill.

Problem though, the man is the major reason Rex is in the gang in the first place, he owes his cousin a ton of credits.

I haven’t bother to ask what he needed such a crazy number of credits for yet, and I don’t think I will. I’d rather know as little as possible about the man as I can manage, I don’t need him nor I getting attached passed the simple gamble I’ve presented.

A gamble I’m not quite sure will work out right now. Rex’s cousin did as asked all those years ago and scrambled out the credits for whatever shit Rex had to deal with.

Rex says he isn’t quite sure how his cousin managed to pull it off, but all that matters is that he did and now he’s called on him to clear his debt by working the gang.

I really doubt his cousin will be thrilled to hear that he’s trying to leave the gang and possibly clear his debt by selling me to Invincibill.

Doesn’t sound very grateful.

And possibly worse, it doesn’t sound like a solid plan. Imagine being told your cousin who is reluctant to work in the gang wants to meet your bosses’ boss, the boss of all the bosses and ask if he could have a shit ton of credits and also leave.

I don’t see it playing out very well. However, this is the option we’ve chosen, it’s really the only option.

“Just down here then.” Rex mutters, leading me down the step of stairs that breaks into a basement or underground bunkeresque space.

Great, another one of these, hopefully no one tries to murder me this time.

We entered through the doors of a rather dull bar with very little patronage near the centre of the gang’s control, this is apparently where his cousin runs his crew as well as washes money for the gang.

The space is insane down here, it’s possibly larger and wider than the bar itself. There’s a work out corner, a second bar for some reason, and a few evenly spaced rooms demarcated by a light wooden structure.

Rex greets several of the men loitering about. Many of them asking if he’s bringing by his long-lost son for his cousin to have a look.

Irritating. He and I are basically the same damn age.

Nevertheless, I pay them little mind and, in a moment, we’re let through to see Rex’s cousin.

Unsurprisingly, the man can be found in the room with the fanciest and bling on it, the wood is stronger on his and his actually has a working door.

A door Rex pushes forward, “Hey Rey, I’ve go-”

“Aahh~” the moan of pure ecstasy comes at me from nowhere, but I soon find where as I take another step and right in front of my eyes is a man with his pants down and a woman, bent over palms flat as paper on the wall, panting like a…

“Damn son! Can’t you knock!” Rey, Rex’s cousin yells, starting to pull out of the voluptuous woman with her skirt raised up over her stomach.

“Aaah~” She moans yet again, arching her back even further this time and looking back at him. No words are said but Rey ploughs back in.

“Shit! Boy want do you want? If you gonna stand there and watch me fuck with some kid you better start talking!”

With the woman rhythmically moaning and groaning with each slap, Rex finally finds himself and steps into my view.

Annoying…

“Uh, I’ll let you finish.” He stutters backing out of the room. Shutting the door behind him he stares back at the set of men he greeted not a minute ago, all of them with shit eating grins on their faces.

“Why didn’t you-!”

***

After Rex is treated to the quality experience of being the laughing stock for a few moments, we get seated on bean bags near the workout equipment and wait for Rey to finish with his…appointment.

There are other, more nefarious things littered about the place but I think it best not to look. Instead, I thank whatever deity watched over us that Paige agreed to stay back at the motel this time.

It would have been wholly strange to have her stare at that scene with Rey and the woman and then have to go back to the motel with me.

Well, I’m sure she already knows what I think of her, or what literally everyone thinks of her. She’s got this magnetic pull that just draws people in for better or worse, so far, it’s been worse though.

Not a very nice streak of good for people like us.

After a moment more of waiting the door to Rey’s office swings open and the woman from earlier walks out, her skirt dropped down and her hands occupied with her purse.

A wholly different look from before.

Rex lets her pass before tapping me up to get going. “Rey sure took his time.”

“Well, I hear they enjoy it that way?” I blurt out, my brain having no filter.

Rex stares down at me, a mixture of shock and frustration on his face, “What would you even…ugh, let’s just get in.” He drops the topic and once again pushes the door open.

“Still ain’t knocking I see.” Rey grunts, seated behind his desks, legs up and a roll of something that definitely isn’t just a cigarette between his lips.

“Ah, sorry. Bad habit.”

He cousin doesn’t say a thing, just stares.

Rex and I stand there for the moment, the both of us undoubtedly feeling the same nervous sweat.

Finally, he speaks, but he’s gesturing at me, “Who’s the twerp?”

Gulping, Rex takes a step forward, “He’s the reason I’m here today.”

“Oh, you mean you’re not here to get a job and pull your own fucking weight? What a surprise.” Rey puffs, sending a cloud of smoke into the air.

Rex breathes but doesn’t deign his jab an answer, “We want to meet Invincibill.”

This draws his attention. He looks between me and his cousin, the question in his eye is easy to read.

‘Are they kidding?’

“Can you set up a meeting?” Rex persists, not giving his cousin anytime to process the little bomb he’s just dropped.

Rey shakes his head and looks at the roll between his fingers, “I’m sorry, it may just be the janga speaking so I’ll have to ask you to repeat yourself cuz it sounded like you said you want to meet Invincibill and want me to set up a meeting.”

“You heard right,” Rex says, putting a little oomph of confidence into his voice at last, “We need to meet him.”

Rey slams his fists down on his desk, scaring the shit out of me as he stands.

“The cops, hoes and shit the suppressors all want to meet fucking Invincibill. What makes you think you’ll be walking into his room like now? What the fuck you thinking up there? You trying to step to Invincibill? Hell, you trying to step to me!”

Rey’s gotten agitated in a matter of seconds. I think he heard that oomph of confidence and marked it as a threat.

“Sorry to cut in but, we have something for Invincibill alone, or rather, I have something for him.”

From the towering height of likely six feet plus, Rey looks down at me and quirks an eyebrow, “What did you say?”

I look between him and his cousin.

Fucking Rex is paralysed.

“I said, what I’ve got if for Invincibill alone. I need you to set up a meeting.”

He nods. Not a good nod though, if the way he steps out from behind his desk and towards me is any indication.

“Oh yeah? Is that thing a bullet? You threatening my chicken cos here? What you got kid? Who sent you, Lynx? It’s Lynx, isn’t it? You a fucking cannibal too?”

“Want to know who sent me?”

He says nothing, only glaring deeply and intensely at me. Still Rex hasn’t moved.

“I need protection and I can buy it…from Invincibill. Now if you can set a meeting for us to meet, I think both Invincibill and I will appreciate that very much.”

He snorts, flicking his nose, “And how do I know you and my dumbass cousin here aren’t just dumbasses?”

“I’m just a kid, a kid promising to get you into Invincibill’s good favours, you would like that wouldn’t you?”

He laughs outright now, “And what’s in it for you?”

“Me? Well, I get to keep my star.”